Online Legal Advice Costs You in the Long Run

One time I had a headache that lasted three days. I Googled it and ended up convinced I had either a brain tumor or was about to keel over from sky-high cholesterol. Either way, for a few hours I was sure my days were numbered. You may mock me, but I say let him who’s never Googled his own symptoms and come away a little bit worried about an incurable wasting disease cast the first stone.

“Just because you Googled it, doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Why do we all keep doing this, even though we know the truth that just because you Googled it, doesn’t mean it’s true? I don’t know the answer to that, but when I Googled it, I found an article that said we’re all just looking for a little peace of mind.

Turns out it’s the same when it comes to online legal advice—with consequences that can be just as deadly for your business. Did you know that just because you Googled it, doesn’t mean it’s good advice (if the Wikipedia entry you looked at turns out to have been wrongly edited by a 16-year-old Romanian hacker)?